#so now we have a news report that sounds like: hawkeye fought hawkeye on top of the cities tallest mountain today. eye witness accounts say | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kingflups · 5 years

Text

Compounded: Home, but not Alone - Chapter 1: Prelude

Word Count: 5730

Mini summary: The Avengers are out on missions across the globe. Little do they know that plans to break into their base have begun to circulate- and word travels fast among criminals. Multiple plots of robbery, theft, and heisting arise- all with their eyes set on the Avengers compound. A young team arises to meet the crisis, with every tool and trap inside their tiny grasps. Expanded summary and story under the cut.

Expanded Concept/Summary: A Home Alone style fic set at the Avengers compound. A bizarre timeline AU that I pulled out of my own ass. Ages are sqweed for the sake of having a cast. Our Home Alone children are: Wanda Maximoff, Peter Parker, Cassie Lang, Shuri, and Morgan Stark. Maybe even the Barton kids. Actually just Lila. I aged down Wanda because I liked how she was a teen or young adult in AOU and Civil War, and I want to use that young Wanda- she seems cool. Cassie, Morgan, Shuri and Peter are their post-endgame ages.

A supervillain organization has sent out a powerful and widespread computer virus to select secure compounds, prompting the Avengers to deploy teams across the globe. During this adventure, however, the younger members are left behind. Little do the Avengers know that word travels fast among villains. Multiple plots of robbery, theft, and heisting arise- all with their eyes set on the Avengers compound.

Along the way, alliances are formed and broken; fights against one another began to tear the Avenger’s home apart! ...But the kids are working together better than they ever have before. It seems that the gained knowledge to the villians that their advisories are children begin to tear their uneasy alliances apart. What will happen now as heroes defend their home, villains show their heart, and supervillains flex their lack of empathy?

Documentary Cassie is watching: Medieval Monsters- Peek inside the Strange, Secret World of Bugs - A National Geographic Showcase [ Link ]

Ballpark kids ages:

Wanda- 20

Peter- 16

Cassie- 16

Shuri- 15

Morgan- 6

Lila- 15

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

AVENGERS COMPOUND:

Approx. 10 AM.

Living quarters- Recreation Hub

Clint leaned against the wall as he pulled on his left boot.

“I’m sorry, Lila, I know I promised a tour of the compound, but it will have to wait.” He said. “Bad guys wait for no one.”

Lila bounced her legs against he countertop she sat on. She was wearing baggy jeans and some flannel. She looked like she had just arrived from off the family farm.

“Yeah, no problem Dad.” She said. “Go be a hero.”

“Sure wish I could go.” Shuri piped in. She was sprawled out, upside down, on the couch. She was also wearing casual clothes. Between her fingers she twiddled with a small electronic as she spoke.

T’challa scoffed.

“If you thought I was letting you come before, I am most certainly not letting you come now.” T’challa said. “Mother would have by hide if I got you anywhere near a viral contagion.”

“Only an airborne one!” Shuri said, sitting up. “I mean, come on! You guys are fighting A.I.M.. They’re a bunch of yellow-suited nerds!”

“They’re world-class scientists Shuri- terrorists ones.”

“They’re yellow-pushovers with gas masks and cartoonishly high IQ’s.” Clint said.

Shuri getured to Clint excitedly.

“Exactly! Give me suit and I’ll have those too.”

T’challa sighed. He began to tap his fingers against his chin.

“Well, I guess you’re right…”

He trailed off. Then, T’Challa grabbed Clint by the elbow.

“But you are still not coming.” He turned his back to Shuri. “Come on Barton- We are needed in the UK.”

“What?!” Shuri protested.

T’Challa turned to his sister and stuck his tongue out before his mask materialized over his face. Shuri pulled herself over the back of the couch and stuck out her tongue twice as dramatically.

Clint stumbled as T’Challa lead him to the door.

“Yup, yup. Coming, your highness.”

He quickly grabbed his quiver as he passed through the doorway.

“Lila, watch yourself, alright? Party only a little, and don’t let the compound burn down while we’re gone.”

“Of course Dad,” Lila said. “Watch yourself out there, Hawkeye.”

Clint smiled as he disappeared from the door. His voice echoed down the hallway.

“You too, Hawkeye!”

Shuri and Lila listened in silence as the compound was filled with the echoing sound of a Quinjet taking off. It was the last one still in the hanger- the others had already been deployed across the globe.

Shortly after the Barton’s arrived that morning, communications began blowing up. Data banks from across the globe had been simultaneously attacked. Digitally, firewalls and other digital defenses completely collapsed at a prison in the States, a research facility in Chile, and multiple facilities across Europe and Africa- and those were the only ones they knew about.

There was a physical attack too- A.I.M. scientists arrived at each location shortly after beginning the digital attacks, armed to the teeth with tech and weapons. With their arrival also marked the release of an unknown toxin, causing seizures and blackouts to those caught in the area. Children caught in these zones became unstable- it seemed young systems couldn't handle the contagion. Early reports considered the virus harmful to adults and life-threatening to adolescents.

Shuri sighed, tossing her collection of electrical bits into the cushions of the couch.

“So much for a family tour night, huh?”

Lila chuckled.

“Yeah, guess so.” She said. “But I ain’t surprised. I mean, come on- like a chill night at superhero headquarters would go uneventful?”

“”Superhero”? Is that what you call your Dad?” Shuir asked. “Barton is your dad, right?”

Lila scoffed.

“Well, yeah, but I wouldn’t call him a superhero..”

“That’s what you said.”

“No. No, no, no. Everybody here has powers and supersuits and magic and junk. My Dad is… my Dad.”

Lila shook her head, then jumped off the counter. Her boots thunked against the tile as she made her way to the couch.

“I think we got off on a weird hand. I’m Lila Barton.”

“Hawkeye’s kid.” Shuri said.

“One of ‘em.”

Shuri laughed.

“Of course he has more than one kid. He always seemed like the kind to have a troop around him. At least, that's what it sounded like when T’Challa spoke about him.”

Shuri scooted backwards and patted on the couch. Lila crawled over the seat and sat on the back.

“That’s right. T’Challa’s your brother. What’s that like, being a princess and all?”

Shuri laughed.

“That’s right, but only technically.”

“So basically what I said was completely right.” Lila grinned.

Shuri rolled her eyes.

“Well, yeah, but I’m also a scientist. Do you think my brother could have built that suit?” Shuri clicked her tongue. “That’s all me.”

“For real? That’s so cool. My mechanical skills advance pretty much only to cars and lumber.”

Lila bent over and began to peel off her boots. She tossed them aside, piling them at the base of the television across the room, where several other pairs had been placed.

“My Dad doesn’t let me anywhere near his work. The skills and stuff, sure, but not danger-danger.”

“Pfft. You think T’Challa is any better? Between him and Mom, I might as well be stuck in a bubble. I build nearly indestructible suits, and I am still restricted to the lab at the first sign of trouble. It takes a full scale invasion for me to suit up.”

Lila sat up.

“Wait- you’ve fought before?” Lila gasped. “That’s really cool. I shoot, you know, like my dad.”

Lila mimicked dry-firing a bow into the hall.

“He would never bring me with, but I kinda really want too. I think I might be good at it.”

“Well that’s the dream, isn’t it?” Shuri sighed. “But instead, we’re locked in the most secure compound this side of the equator. The most action we’re going to see tonight is on the big screen.”

“I mean... we could still go on a tour.” Lila said.

“By ourselves?” Shuri asked.

“Yeah, you said it yourself- we’re in the safest place probably on the whole planet. Let’s walk around a bit.”

Shuri grinned.

“I like the way you think, Barton.” Shuri said. She jumped off the couch and to her feet- it didn’t make a sound as her socks touched the floor. “I was going to sneak off myself, but if since your down…” Shuri trailed off as she collected her electronics off the couch and tossed them haphazardly onto a nearby coffee table.

“Let’s get this party started.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11:53 AM.

INCOMING TRANSMISSION.

UNITED STATES MARSHAL SERVICE CLASSIFIED FACILITY

DESIGNATION: THE RAFT

BROADCASTING FROM AN EMERGENCY FREQUENCY.

CONTAINMENT BREACH.

PRISONER TRANSFER: UNSUCCESSFUL.

EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL: UNSUCCESSFUL.

STAFF EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: FAILING.

MAIN POWER: FAILED.

EMERGENCY FIRE PROTOCOL INITIATED.

EMERGENCY POWER: OPERATING AT 47.3%.

S.O.S.

REPEATING MESSAGE.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Living Quarters- Ms. Maximoff.

Wanda rested her head against her folded hands. A large leatherbound book was laid across her crossed-legs. It was hand-written in a decadent script in a language she had never seen before. Dr. Strange said it was a collection of runes and spells belonging to extinct school dedicated to the study of chaotic magic.

It was beautiful.

It also complete nonsense.

“Where does this line go?” Wanda hissed.

She traced her finger along a line of text at the top of the page. The line ran clearly at the top, then pulled a 90 degree angle into the lower text. Then it looped, divided, and corkscrewed… Was it even still going? Or was this a new line altogether?

A reference book was also placed next to her on her pillow deciphering the runes into old English. An old English dictionary laid next to that. And next to that laid an open notebook covered in ink notes and highlighter.

Wanda sighed, pushing the book aside.

“I’m getting nowhere.”

Carefully, she collected all of the books and carried them in a stack to a bookshelf across the room. Lining the shelf was a row of candles, only one of which was lit. It was a small white candle set in an unmarked jar. Next to it, unlike the other candles, there was a series of photographs.

Wanda placed down the books and kissed her hand. She then placed her hand against three of the larger photos- One of her and Vision sitting outside the compound. Another was of her and her brother Pietro perched on the wall of a fountain somewhere in Europe. Pietro was balancing haphazardly along the wall, his arms clenched around Wanda’s shoulders to keep himself from falling in. Her own hands were buried in the edge to keep herself from being pulled into the water. They were both smiling.

Wanda’s hand lingered on the last photo. It was of her family. It was folded and crumpled, and a lone piece of tape held it together even in the frame. A much younger version of herself and Pietro looked back at her. Their parents looked back at her too, and between them was squeezed their younger sister, Lorna. The photo was ridiculously formal and rigid for being taken on their couch, but everyone in it looked happy. Uncomfortable, sure, but happy.

"Can I hide in here?"

Wanda jumped, knocking over the picture frame. She turned to the doorway with a hand poised protectively over her chest. Morgan looked back at her.

"Can I?" She repeated.

"Oh, Morgan!" Wanda said. "I didn't know you were here."

Morgan grinned.

"Yeah! Momma said I could sleep over. Isn't that neat!" She smiled. Morgan made her way over to the bed and lifted Wanda's sheets.

"Can I hide here?"

Wanda blinked.

“I suppose,” Wanda said. “Why are you hiding?”

“I’m playing with Peter.” Morgan said. She peeked under the sheet and made a face. “There’s too many boxes under here. I can’t fit.”

Morgan reached under the bed and pulled out a large and deflated stuffed bear. It was nearly as tall as she was. Morgan tossed the toy critter on the bed and then began to worm her way under the mattress.

Wanda followed, dropping to the floor so that she laid next to the young Stark. Morgan stared back at her from beneath the overhanging sheet.

“Playing hide and seek?’ Wanda said.

Morgan nodded.

“Well, did you know that me and my brother were the hide and seek champions?”

“That’s silly.” Morgan replied. “No one can be a champion at hide and seek.”

Wanda scoffed.

“Well, we were.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-uh!” Wanda said. “And I can prove it.”

Wanda pushed herself off the ground and wiped off her leggings. Offering a hand to Morgan, she used her other hand to pull up the sheet and uncover her hiding spot.

“How about I show you the best hiding spots in the whole compound?”

Morgan peeked out from under the bed with a skeptical look on her face.

“There’s more than one?” Morgan said.

“Oh yeah, there’s plenty, if you know where to look.”

Morgan stayed under the bed for a moment, her face twisted deeply in thought. Then her face exploded into a grin.

“For real?” She said.

“Yeah, for real.” Wanda grinned.

Morgan squirmed out from her hiding place and latched onto Wanda’s hand.

“Let’s go!” Morgan jumped excitedly. “I’m so excited!”

Wanda laughed as she lead Morgan out of the room.

“You really like hide and seek, huh?”

Morgan let her head fall to her side as she spoke.

“Hide and seek is okay,” Morgan replied. “But I’m excited to win.”

Wanda snorted.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL PRISON: UPSTATE NEW YORK - EMERGENCY LOCK-UP

“Hubbard! Get that door closed!” Barked an armed man.

Against him leaned another guard whose hands were clenched around a gash at his hip. A third rushed behind them, forcing a metal latch into place at a large fire door. Several others filled the now enclosed space. Several sported the same armed-guard regalia; others were in a plain, employee garb.

A thick mist hovered over the floor, reaching many of the employee’s waists. It smelt of pepper and vinegar.

“Where is our back-up?” One of the guards said. The man who first spoke answered.

“They should be here by now.”

He pulled the man at his side closer to himself, forcing the other man’s wound into his side as another buffer.

“Keep your hands against that gash, Ramos.” He commanded

Ramos nodded. He leaned deeper into the first man, letting him hold him completely. The first man continued.

“We need to communications up. And we need to get Ramos patched up. And that door needs to stay shut.”

One of the employees stepped forward.

“Captain?” The employee stated. “We still don’t know what’s going on- what’s happening out there?”

The captain locked his jaw, then spoke.

“The prisoners are out. High profile ones.” He said. He looked down to Ramos, who was growing paler. Pulling Ramos closer, he continued.

“Those bastards who broke in are letting everyone out. They’re handing out damn gasmasks!”

The employee who spoke before recoiled. The captain continued.

“Everybody stay calm. Nobody’s getting through that door.”

“How can you say that?” The employee argued. “We’re trapped in a cell in a prison full of convicted felons!”

The captain grabbed Ramos and placed him on a table. A man in a nurses uniform rushed to his side. The captain turned back to the employee with a grim look overcasting his features.

“Because we’re not anywhere near the exit.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AVENGERS COMPOUND- KITCHEN

“The new forest contains many unique habitats. Here, there are trees over six hundred years old. For some, their time is up- But death brings new life. Beneath this fallen giant, the earth is stirring.”

On screen, a beetle began to worm it’s way out of the dirt beneath a fallen tree. The angle of the camera made it seem like the animal was massive. The enhanced soundtrack made his footsteps sound like something akinded to an elephant.

“A male stag beetle. He has spent the last six years as an underground grub feeding on the deadwood. Now, his quest begins to find a mate before the end of his short adult life.”

Cassie watched as a large beetle bumbled out of the ground on screen. A comedic heavy soundtrack played as the beetle slowly meandered his way out of the ground.

“Aw, you’ll find somebody dummy.”

Cassie tossed a piece of popcorn at her mouth, but missed. It bounced off her lip and tumbled to the floor. Tapping quickly filled the room as a dog-sized ant appeared from behind the counter, diving at the piece and plucking it up into its jaws.

“Aw, nards.” Cassie said. “Five second rule, Antonette! I could have still eaten that.”

The ant continued to make a clicking sound as she perched her front legs against Cassie’s. Antonette then stuck her jaw into the bowl and removed another piece of popcorn.

“Hey!” Cassie protested. Antonette jumped backwards and disappeared once more behind the counter. Cassie made a face, then tossed another piece of popcorn into the air. She propped her mouth open wide to catch it.

“Cassie!”

Cassie lurched forward in surprise, gagging as the airborne piece of popcorn collided with the back of her throat.

“Cassie!” Peter repeated. He slid into the room, jumping over and into the barstool next to Cassie in a single fluid motion. It was really quite graceful. Cassie missed this, as she was doubled over in her seat, coughing into her hands.

“What?” Cassie managed. She beat a fist against her chest as another fit of coughs took her. “You scared the crud outta me.”

“I can’t find Morgan.” Peter said. He ran a hand through his hair as he spoke. His clothes were disheveled and twisted, as his he had been running, but didn’t have time to straighten them out.

Cassie set her bowl aside.

“What do you mean you can’t find her?”

“I mean I can’t find her!” Peter said. “I told Mrs. Stark that I was going to watch her. So, we were playing hide and seek, and I started looking, and then I kept looking, then I said the game was over, then I kept looking, and still can’t find her.”

“Wait, you lost her during a game? She’s around her somewhere, dude.”

Peter jumped off the stool and began to pace about the room. He opened the fridge and began to peer into each of the shelves.

“I don’t think she is.” Peter said. He closed the fridge and opened the nearest shelf. “It’s like she’s poofed away."

Cassie arched her head back and screamed into the hall.

“Morgan! Game over, Congratulations! You beat Spiderman!” Cassie yelled. Peter and Cassie listened is silence for a moment. No reply came.

“Oh my god, I lost her.” Peter said, cupping his face in his hands. He opened the next cabinet and began to peer behind the stack of plates inside it.

“Peter, she’s not behind the plates, man. We’re in a massive building- she’s probably under table somewhere.”

“I don’t know, maybe she shrunk down or…or.... Can anybody turn invisible? Could Morgan have grabbed like a suit that turned her invisible?”

“Peter.” Cassie repeated. “No way, man. Let’s just look some more. Come on, I’ll help.”

Jumping off the barstool, Cassie wiped off the large chunks of popcorn salt from her own crumpled pants. The space of floor where she sat was now slightly discolored with the sheer amount of crumbs.

“Thanks a ton.” Peter said. He quickly opened the remaining cabinets, then rushed to meet Cassie at the door. “After that, we need to talk about how messy you are. That floor is nasty.”

Cassie scoffed.

“Nah man, Antonette loves it.”

Peter passed Cassie as she spoke, positioning himself so that his back was to the hallway. Cassie was still scrubbing food bits from her baggy pants. Behind her, her pet ant had crawled over the counter and was currently burying her head in Cassie’s bowl of popcorn.

“I guess she does like popcorn.” Peter conceded. He watched as Antonette flipped the bowl over, perching the piece of dishware onto her antennas to keep it from clacking to the floor. The ant then jumped to the floor and began to eat the pieces from the ground.

“My folks love her. We haven’t had a vacuum in two years. Well, I mean, dad never ever had one, but it was a happy improvement for mom and my stepdad.”

Cassie straightened up, clapping her fingers together. The last particles of salt from her fingers twinkled to the floor.

“Let’s go find Morgan.”

Peter immediately took off down the hall, leading Cassie by her hand.

“Woah, Peter!” Cassie said. “Slow down! You’re going to tear my arm off!”

Peter slowed down, but only a little.

“Sorry! I know I’m probably overreacting, but normally I’m wearing a mask, so people can’t tell when I panic.”

Peter turned to Cassie as he pulled her through the hall, pointing to his face dramatically.

“But I’m not wearing a mask.”

Peter paused at an intersection in the hall, then yanked Cassie with him to the left.

“Otherway!” Cassie said. She dug her heels into the floor, snapping Peter to a halt.

“You want to go armory first?” He said.

“Well, yeah,” Cassie said. “Just because Morgan probably didn’t shrink down or turn invisible doesn’t mean she for sure didn’t.”

Peter’s face dropped further.

“Oh my god,” he said. “Oh my god, Pepper’s gonna strangle me.”

“Pepper’s not going to strangle you, dude. Morgan’s a kid! Kids love hide and seek! She’s probably just really good at hiding.”

Peter paused, facing Cassie. His grip tightened for a moment.

“Cassie. I have been ‘seeking’ for Morgan for over an hour and a half.” Peter said.

Cassie was quiet for a second.

“Oh my god.” Cassie she finally managed.

“I know.” Peter said.

“Oh my god.” Cassie repeated, with more feeling this time.

“Uh-huh.”

Cassie began to rush toward the armory and Peter quickly fell into rushed step beside her.

“Dude, don’t panic," Cassie said. "It's probably nothing."

"Nothing?" Peter questioned.

"Yeah, it's probably nothing! But um, Hope doesn’t lock up her gear and, uh, we should check it. Maybe."

Peter sharply inhaled, his pace doubling and then passing Cassie's.

"Peter, I said it's probably nothing " Cassie said, overly calm. She too quickened her pace to match Peter’s new speed.

“Why doesn’t she lock her stuff up!” Peter hissed. “She’s so… Professional! She’s dating a professional former thief!”

“You always have to be ready!” Cassie said. “And who would steal from her- it’s in the most secure room probably on the whole planet! Most of the time it works out!”

"Cassie, no six year old is this good at hiding." Peter said. "Morgan could be on the moon at this point!"

"She's not on the moon."

"The quantum realm then!"

Cassie got quiet.

"...Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean you should say it out loud." She huffed.

Peter rounded a corner, sticking his fingertips to the wall as he pivoted in the new direction. Cassie swerved on foot, her feet sliding against the slick floor. She caught herself before she could stumble out of control.

"We're so dead." Peter said.

The pair reached a large metal door. It was reinforced with braces. A large keypad was imbedded in the wall beside it, outfitted with a camera and small touch screen scanner.

“Oh, that’s fantastic.” Cassie said, huffing between her heavy breaths. “It’s still closed.”

Peter gazed at the door for a second. His eyebrows furrowed, then he turned to the keypad. He punched in a series of numbers, then pressed his whole palm against the touchscreen. It illuminated light blue for a second, then disappeared. Something behind the door hissed. Cassie reached forward and opened the newly unlocked-door.

“Morgan, are you in here?” Peter called.

He squeezed past Cassie and slipped into the open room. There were no windows. Just walls and air vents. Lockers lined a row of disjointed walls. Some contained old suits, broken armor, and partially functional prototypes. Behind the wall of lockers was a large set of containment bars. Some contained large suits and others broken pieces of large scale equipment.

Cassie rushed to one of the lockers at the end of the row. She opened it- it was unlocked.

“Hope's spare suit’s here.”

Peter walked down the row of lockers, peering into the bars of each one.

“Nothing looks gone that shouldn’t be.”

Cassie planted her hands on her hips. She sighed.

“Maybe Morgan wandered outside.”

Peter shook his head. He pushed away from the last locker.

“I don't think so… we made a rule that we would stay inside.”

“You should have made a rule to keep to just one room.”

Peter nodded.

“Yeah, I know. How was I supposed to know a six-year-old would take advantage of such a huge space! I thought she would go behind the curtains or something! ...I’ve never babysat before. I think I’m bad at it.”

He sighed, then ran his hands through his hair again.

“Okay, yeah. Let’s check outside.”

Peter turned to the door and Cassie fell into step beside him.

“Have you asked Wanda? I think she’s around her somewhere.”

“For real? I thought-"

The pair were cut short as an alarm cut through the building.

“Peter?” Cassie yelled. Her voice was nearly lost in the sound. “What is that?”

“I don’t know!” Peter yelled back, covering his ears.

The alarm continued for several seconds before it cut out. The lights flickered out after it.

“That can’t be good.” Peter said.

A ear-piercing boom shattered through the air from somewhere in the building, shaking the walls and lockers. Cassie dropped to her knees.

“Peter?” Cassie repeated.

Red light suddenly illuminated room. A female voice played over a set of loud-speakers.

Emergency power online.

“Oh my god, I think we’re under attack.” Peter said. He turned to Cassie, his own shaken expression reflected in her face.

“We gotta find Morgan.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LAST RECORDING FROM DAMAGED CELL BLOCK CAMERA B.

TIME OF RECORDING: 12:35 PM, EASTERN TIME. RECORDED APPROX. TWO HOURS AGO.

BEGINNING PLAY-BACK.

“Get back into your cells!” Barked a guard. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a prisoner swung a chair at the man’s head before he could manage. The guard’s head snapped backwards. His form tilted toward his back and pivoted over the railing he was against. The man who hit him smirked, then rushed into the fray of moving bodies.

Among the crowd that had gathered near the lunch tables, a man in a yellow hazmat suit appeared. He stepped onto a table and held his arms out to the room.

“Attention!” He yelled. “I am Doctor-”

A can flew across the room and nailed the speaker in the head. He stumbled forward but caught himself before he fell off the table.

“Shut up, asshole!” Shouted someone from the crowd. The A.I.M. scientist scowled, but continued.

“I am a scientist, with Advanced Idea Mechanics! You might know us as the international agency A.I.M.!”

“The egg-heads?” Shouted another prisoner.

“Yeah, the nerds with M.O.D.O.K.!” Shouted another.

“The gross floating head?” Said yet another.

“M.O.D.O.K. is a breakthrough is techno-organic technology!” The doctor yelled. “But that is besides the point! I was the lead researcher on that project, and my work was critical, but again, besides the point! A.I.M. has decided to release you all as a thank you for your cooperation!”

“For what?”

“Yeah, we haven’t done jack-shit!”

“Speak for yourself! I totally killed that guard Roswell!”

“I thank you for your upcoming cooperation!” The Scientist corrected. “We have released you all in our efforts to recruit your minds! We look for intelligence, skill, and determination! We look for your doctors, scientists, and mechanics!”

The crowd grew quiet. Finally, a prisoner in the back spoke up.

“...You want us to work for you?”

“Some of you.” The scientist replied. “We look for the smartest among you to join our ranks.”

“Only some of us? That’s elitist.”

“Bro, I think it’s called mentalist.”

“No, stupid, that’s a show on CBS.”

The scientist waved his hands over the crowd, again grabbing their attention.

“Gentlemen, please!” The A.I.M. man called. “Let me explain our first job! Surely this will interest you- all of you! We have a credible reason to believe that tech taken from you, ourselves, and other global efforts are currently being stored at the Avengers central compound. A.I.M. has already caused threats world-wide, pulling almost every known avenger away from the facility! With your help, we can overwhelm their remaining defenses and steal the most powerful pieces of technology this side of the galaxy!”

A wave of murmuring overtook the crowd. Several groups formed around the tables. One man pushed through the crowd, forcing his way to another man.

“Schultz!” Hissed the man who had moved through the crowd. Schultz jumped, rearing back his hand in a balled fist. He sighed in relief as he met the man’s eyes.

“Adrian!” Schultz said. “You scared the hell outta me, boss.”

"Prison riot- I know. It ain't great for the nerves." Adrian shouldered past the last man between them, elbowing the stranger out of his way. Schultz sighed, letting his shoulders drop from their defensive position.

“What do you make of the show-boat?” Adrian asked, nodding his head to the A.I.M. scientist. Schultz frowned.

“I don’t like it boss. It seems too easy.”

“Yeah. I thought so too. Doesn’t mean we should toss the idea.”

Schultz shook his head.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about it.”

“Hell no,” Adrian said. “They’re going to dump us as soon as they get into the Avenger’s lock up.”

“That’s where they’re keeping our gear, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

Schultz and Adrian both sighed.

“I mean, we’re already in prison, and we aren’t getting out anytime soon.”

Adrian sighed. He crossed his arms, shaking his head as he thought.

“What if we break into the Avengers compound first? Before they get a chance?”

Schultz nodded.

“That could work.” He said. “Easy buck off materials we already know how to sell. We still need a way to get there.”

“What if we stole their jet?” Adrian said.

“Excuse me?” Schultz hissed. He leaned in closer to Adrian. “Adrian, neither of us know how to fly.”

“Did I hear you boys mention something about needing a pilot?”

Adrian and Schultz turned to the new speaker. He was shorter than the two of them and spoke with a thick southern drawl.

“Who are you supposed to be?”

“Somebody who knows how to fly.” The man said. He held out his hand in the shared space between Adrian and Schultz. “Name’s Montana.”

“Montana…?” Adrian trailed off.

“Just Montana.”

“Just Montana.” Adrian huffed. “I’m sure that’s a real name too.”

Adrian huffed again, placing both hands against his hips. He bit his lip as he thought in silence. After a moment he sighed.

“You can fly a jet?” He finally said.

“Anything with a half-decent engine. I bring my boys with and we can get a damn dinosaur back in the air.”

“Fine. We'll take ya.”

“Boss, you’re sure?” Schulz said.

“No, I’m not sure, but I’m not hanging around mid-prison break until I make up my mind.” Adrian said. He turned to Montana. “Grab your crew- we’re getting outta here.”

Montana nodded, and he disappeared into the crowd. Adrian and Schultz began to make their way toward the exit.

“Boss, I don’t know if we can trust that guy.” Schultz said.

“Neither can I, but I’ll take my chances with the hick before I try my luck with A.I.M..”

Montana reappeared near the door, with two other men in tow.

“This your crew?” Adrian asked.

“Yessir,” Montana said. “Meet Ox and Dan.”

“We’ll have time for pleasantries in the air.” Schultz said, brushing past the group. He disappeared into the hall.

“You heard ‘em boys,” Montana said. “Let’s go.” They too disappeared.

Adrian sighed.

“You’d think being the ‘boss’ they’d wait for my word.” He huffed. He walked into the hall, out of view of the camera.

The scientist on the table held out his hands once more to the crowd.

“Gentlemen!” He cried. “Do you have your answers? Are you ready to join the ranks of wondrous A.I.M.?”

“Fuck no!” Came a voice from the crowd.

The scientist stepped back in surprise.

“E-excuse me?” He said.

“I ain’t going anywhere with somebody who could use me as a guinea pig!” The man yelled.

“Hey, man! Shut up! These guys are getting us outta here!” Shouted another man.

“No way! I’ve heard about the experiments these sick fucks commit! I ain’t going anywhere!”

The man reeled back, punching the second prisoner in the jaw. He fell backwards, tumbling into the crowd. The effect rippled, and chaos broke out among the prisoners. Shouting quickly filled the space. The scientist who had spoken before was thrown from the table he stood on as a prisoner tipped it over. He was lost in the riot. Other A.I.M. soldiers entered the room and began to fire into the crowd. A prisoner leapt off a balcony and plunged a make-shift weapon into the side of one of the yellow clad-men.

A stray gunshot was thrown into the air. It struck the camera.

The recording went black.

#avengers #avengers fanfiction #mcu #marvel #fanfiction #not gonna its basically superhero home alone #spiderman #lila barton #shuri #cassie lang #peter parker #morgan stark #wanda maximoff

5 notes · View notes

fandomtrashpandasposts · 6 years

Text

Pretty Much an Avenger

Prologue

Peter Parker x F!OCish - Kate Bishop

________________________________________________________________

Authors Notes

Posted on Wattpad – HER0F0RH1RE and Tumblr - luminiabanner

Warning – Language, violence, blood, gore, eventual smut (Peter and Kate are 17 turning 18), Mentions of sexual assault (no graphic depictions) also lots of fluff and angst

This takes place post Civil War and post Homecoming but before Infinity War and will eventually lead into it!

Want to be added to the tagging for updates and anything to do with this fanfic just message me and you will be added.

Word Count- 1,961

________________________________________________________________

Peter stood in the Avengers Tower taking in the scenery like he did every time he visited the glorious building. “Kid snap out of it I’m trying to talk to you,” Tony spoke pulling Peter out of his thoughts.

“I-I’m sorry Mr. Stark,” Peter mumbled stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“I know this whole thing isn’t easy you have a life, family, and school to worry about so just stick to the neighborly things, the small tasks and report in to Happy on the regular. What you did with Vulture was top notch, but you could’ve been killed and I can’t let that happen.” Tony finished placing his hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter didn’t have a chance to reply before F.R.I.D.A.Y. cut in, “Mr. Stark the Hawkeyes are requesting entrance to the building. I was not sure if I should allow them in since Hawkeye fought against you.”

“You can let them in F.R.I.D.A.Y. I asked for their presence. Peter put your mask on,” Tony commanded as he walked over to a table picking up some paper work off the desk. Peter slid the mask on quickly confused about the request but listening to Tony none the less.

“TTOONNYYY!!” A squeal was heard as a flash of purple barged through the door past Peter. Peter glimpsed at Clint walking in casually before his eyes rested upon the unknown person clad in a purple body suit with cut-outs on the left shoulder and hip. She donned purple sunglasses a quiver and a bow. His eyes rested upon the bow, his mask analyzing every little think about her before his head clicked on exactly who it was.

“Oh my gosh!! You-…. Your Kate Bishop, Hawkeye!!” Peter pointed out jumping in excitement at the teenage superhero before him.

“Don’t cream your pants kid she isn’t that great of a person,” Clint joked promptly getting punched in the arm by Kate. “Just joking geez stop punching me in the same spot I already have a bruise!” Clint yelled rubbing his arm. “Alright, alright this is Kate Bishop. Kate took over for me as Hawkeye once upon a time when I was…well, dressing up like a ninja, sort of, is the short version. She is without a doubt the finest and most gifted bowman I’ve ever met but she’s like nine years old and spoiled rotten. She’s pretty great though,” Clint finished ruffling Kate’s hair causing her glasses to fall off her face, but Peter reached out and caught them holding them out towards her.

“Did you force him to say that? Is that something you guys rehearse for these situations? Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum is more like it with the way you two act,” Tony shook his head in annoyance.

Kate scoffed and rolled her eyes at Tony, “Just because you’re a grandpa doesn’t mean we’re dumb. You’re just jealous because you don’t go out and fight as much anymore, makes you extra grumpy. Gotta get with the times that new generation laying it down now,” Kate laughed poking Tony’s side who just rolled his eyes harder. Kate turned to Peter taking the glasses out of his hand with a soft smile, “Thanks Spider-Boy heard a lot about you from this dude and on the news,” she spoke motioning towards Clint.

“It-...It’s Spider-man,” Peter mumbled defeatedly slumping his shoulders some but perked back up when he heard Kate giggle at his reaction. His heart pounded in his chest listening to the sound she produced, it was one of the best things he had ever heard.

“Alright, I don’t have time for this, chat on your own time but we have business to get to. Spider-man if you would wait a moment while I talk to these two I will finish our conversation,” Tony spoke up shushing everyone around him. “Now Kate, Clint has informed me that you were expelled from school again. He as also very kindly begged, oh and I mean begged I made him get on his knees and everything, for me to get you into a new school since you have exhausted all the regular public schools. You start tomorrow here is everything you need I’m sure your rich papa has enough money for you to get ready for the new school. This is a good school kid, more like the best school in the area so do not get expelled from this one I gave them some money to get you in without you having to test and with disregard to your past expulsions. I mean it, if you get expelled not only will you feel Clint’s wrath but mine also. No superhero antics nothing just pass your senior year for god’s sake, okay?” Tony spoke a fatherly tone biting through his words as he handed Kate the folder.

“Is this like some preppy private school full of snobby rich kids?” Kate asked looking through the papers in the folder her eyes landing on the school’s name Midtown School of Science and Technology groaning Kate closed the folder shut a puff of air from the force moving her bangs lightly. “This is even worse it’s a school full of super smart people what am I supposed to do there, I suck at math and science uugggghhh!” Kate groaned throwing her hands up in the air adding to her overdramatic actions.

“Make friends, find a tutor, hell, actually study and do your work. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t punch or threaten anyone. Now leave, I’m sure you guys have some people to shoot or whatever, I am a busy man after all,” Kate rolled her eyes before looking past Tony at Peter, well to her knowledge it was Spider-man, “Hey Spider-boy, maybe I’ll see you around sometime. I’ve been wanting to meet ya ever since that whole team Cap versus Team Ironman and all the Vulture stuff as well to bad I was off fighting my own fights without Clint since he went all fight for Cap… but after much begging he is back on Tony’s good side at least,” Kate smiled walking over to Peter inspecting his mask paired with his regular attire and school bag.

“Ugh yeah I’m mean it was nothing just protecting the neighborhood and stuff,” Peter scuffed his foot against the floor thankful the mask was covering his blushing face.

“Well maybe we can protect the neighborhood together sometime, maybe even get a pizza together afterwards,” Kate giggled winking at Peter before turning away to leave.

“Ye-yeah totally, I mean would you like- ugh could I have your number or something, so we can meet up an- and fight crime and stuff?” Peter stuttered out horribly stepping towards Kate. Tony and Clint looked at the two curiously watching the interaction with amusement. “Come-on Kate let’s go, Lucky has been home alone all day and I’m starving,” Clint whined heading towards the door waving bye to Tony and Peter.

“I’ll find ya Spidey, you aren’t always the quietest hero on the streets,” Kate waved running after Clint her papers tight against her chest.

“I’m so stupid. Could I have your number or something? What was I thinking? She is so out of my league. She even keeps calling me Spider-boy. She doesn’t even know what I look like!” Peter whispered to himself pulling his mask off.

“You are right kid Kate is 100% out of your league, but she will be going to midtown. Become her friend, maybe even her tutor; she will need one trust me. I mean she is in every single one of your classes.” Tony admitted looking at Peter whose eyes widened with each word out of Tony’s mouth.

“Why did you do that! She’s going to find out who I am!” “Relax kid she won’t as long as you don’t give it away, and if you want her to know tell her. She is a superhero herself after all.”

“I know, I know just the less people know the safer my friends and Aunt May are. All the same classes seriously! What am I going to do, I can’t even form a coherent sentence around her!” Peter ran his hands through his hair trying to calm down as Tony stared in amusement. “I put her with you for a reason Peter she needs to stay in school no more expulsions, nothing. She has been through a lot, maybe not as much as you in some ways but more than you in other ways. She is a good kid and Clint really sticks his neck out for her which honestly is a lot coming from him and how careless he is with most other situations. Just make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble, be her friend,” Tony explain leading Peter out of the tower ad towards the car where Happy waited to bring him home.

“I’ll do my best Mr. Stark,” Peter sighed before sliding into the car. He opened his mouth to speak to Happy but closed it in favor of a quiet ride and time to go over the many possible introductions to Kate tomorrow. “Peter,” Happy called getting his attention as they arrived at his apartment complex, “Just say hi, it’s not that difficult. Also get out of the car I have places to be,” Happy finished unlocking the doors. Peter said his goodbye to Happy who sped off the way he came.

The excitement Peter had put an extra pep in his step causing him to take the stares to the apartment two at a time. “Aunt May!” Peter called out as he entered the apartment finding her in the kitchen, “You are never going to believe it!” Peter started explaining his whole day to her ending with The Kate Bishop going to school with him.

“Relax Peter she is just a girl, you never know she might not be that great once you get to know her and stuff, just treat her like MJ and Ned nothing crazy to get worked up over,” Aunt May smiled giving Peter’s shoulder a squeeze.

“You just don’t meet superheroes your age every day Aunt May, especially not ones you’ve been crushing on since pictures of her first emerged. I mean I knew she was here in New York and that she worked with the other Hawkeye all the time, but I never thought I’d actually get to meet let alone being going to school with her,” Peter confessed the blush returning to his cheeks.

“I know but no need to be getting so worked up over a girl that doesn’t even know you exist.” “She knows Spider-man exist, even complemented me well after calling me Spider-boy twice but I think that was more of a playful gesture, she seems like the joking type. But seriously Aunt May she is like the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, I made a complete fool of myself, well Spider-man in front of her!” Peter exclaimed his embarrassing antics causing his face to heat up again.

“You said that about Liz also but now you guys are just friends. All I’m saying is take it easy don’t fall to quickly don’t want my little Peter to get his heartbroken.” “Aunt May I’m 17, almost 18,” Peter sighed as she pulled him into a crushing hug. “I know don’t remind me! And don’t think I don’t know what 17 and 18-year olds get up to behind closed doors. If she ever comes over no closed doors or I will kick butt,” Aunt May joked letting Peter out of her bear hug. “Don’t think that will ever happen Aunt May so trust me nothing to worry about,” Peter sounded defeated as he slugged towards his room leaving his Aunt to finish making dinner.

______________________________________________________________

Next time on Pretty Much an Avenger,

Tag list

@my-animals-of-the-100-acres-wood

25 notes · View notes

studentsofshield · 6 years

Text

A Rambling Chronicle of Marvel’s Western Comics

By Vincent Faust - November 27, 2018

Marvel Comics is the most prolific comic book publisher of the Western genre. Despite their near ubiquity in today’s culture with billion dollar box office receipts, even their diehard fans may not know this part of their past.

I may be missing a few scattered things, but by my count Marvel has published 1,192 issues of Western comics through their history. Marvel had published Western stories from their very beginnings with the Masked Raider in 1939′s Marvel (Mystery) Comics 1-12. Though the genre didn't explode until the late 1940s following the war, while superheroes were declining. Timely (Marvel’s name at the time) launched 7 western titles in 1948.

The "Big Three" of Marvel westerns are Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid, and Two-Gun Kid. Each lasting an impressive 229, 151, and 136 issues respectively.

The star artist of Kid Colt was Jack Keller. Who drew most of the character's stories from 1953-1967. An impressive run. Some have argued he has the honor of drawing the most individual stories for one specific Marvel character. Many of these books had 3-5 short stories per issue, so I wouldn't argue against that. If we only count full issue stories, I'm not sure who would take that title. Probably Mark Bagley for Spider-Man, combining his lengthy 1990s run on Amazing and his history making 2000s run with Bendis on Ultimate.

In 1960, right before the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reinvented Rawhide Kid. After a publishing hiatus the title was brought back with issue 17. The character was now Jonathan Clay and his costume changed. Over two and a half years, their run was revered as the cream of the crop in a waning genre as their own superheroes began to explode.

As Kirby was needed more and more on the superhero titles selling like hotcakes, a tiny run by Jack Davis followed. Davis was an EC Comics legend who took a pit stop at Marvel before becoming even more of a legend at Mad Magazine. Unfortunately, practically the only classic Marvel Westerns to be reprinted in collections is this span of Rawhide Kid. With issues 17-35 reprinted across two hardcover Marvel Masterworks.

Here is Stan Lee talking to Jack Davis and fellow EC/Mad/minor Marvel contributor Harvey Kurtzman. For Marvel, the legendary Kurtzman did 150 episodes of a one-page filler strip titled Hey Look! from 1946 to 1949.

youtube

Especially as Marvel was finally able to publish more titles, Stan Lee's efforts were being stretched too thin as well. So, Rawhide Kid was handed over to his younger brother Larry Lieber to write and draw. Which he did for almost a decade, to minor acclaim from genre fans. Sounds very reminiscent of the hidden gem Gary Friedrich/Dick Ayers/John Severin run on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.

"I don't remember why I wanted to do it, particularly. I think I wanted a little more freedom. I didn't do enough of the superheroes to know whether I'd like them. What I didn't prefer was the style that was developing. It didn't appeal to me. Maybe there was just too much humor in it, or too much something. I remember, at the time, I wanted to make everything serious. I didn't want to give a light tone to it. When I did Rawhide Kid, I wanted people to cry as if they were watching High Noon or something." - Larry Lieber

Lee and Kirby also reinvented Two-Gun Kid for the early 60s, but didn't stick around as long on that one.

Other artists who made a mark on Marvel's western titles include Fred Kida, a notable Golden Age Japanese-American artist known primarily for Airboy. Also Russ Heath, who passed away only recently, and the frequent collaborators John Severin and Dick Ayers. Most of these artists were also prolific in the war genre. The genre is also to thank for the introduction of Herb Trimpe, who would go on to become the definitive Hulk artist.

The true star of the show though was one Joe Maneely. Who Stan considered his best artist before Jack Kirby returned in 1958. The Philadelphia native was skilled and fast, pumping out tons of westerns as well as the Black Knight and Yellow Claw titles, which retroactively tie his work to Marvel continuity. Unlike Kirby, Keller, and Lieber he was not particularly linked to one western title, but his most consistent would be Ringo Kid.

Meanwhile, outside of the genre one of Stan Lee's other top artists was Matt Baker. Considered to be the first African American professional in the field. Also there are reliable reports from friends and family that Baker may have been a gay man. He was one of the primary innovators of the "good girl" art style on Fox Feature Syndicate’s Phantom Lady and countless romance titles. Another milestone was drawing arguably the first graphic novel - It Rhymes with Lust.

Due to some business factors in and out of publisher Martin Goodman’s control, Marvel (at this point known as Atlas Comics) nearly imploded in 1957. The bullpen was completely disbanded, leaving Stan Lee in an empty office. They went from regularly publishing almost 70 titles to only 16. Many of which were filled with inventory stories and reprints as long as Stan could manage not paying freelancers. This situation was further complicated by their new distributor having way too close of a relationship with market share leader National (now DC Comics).

Joe Maneely stepped in front of a train in 1958 at only the age of 32. It may have been a suicide. Matt Baker died of a heart attack in 1959 at 37. As stated above, Jack Kirby comes back to Marvel right around that time and Steve Ditko was quickly growing as an artist. It's tragic how close these two masters were to being on the ground floor of the Marvel Universe as we know it today. What heroes could Maneely and Baker have drawn or created?

The 1970s sees lots of reprints of classic genre comics. An exception is the original title Gunhawks (though an unrelated The Gunhawk title predated it). Though only lasting seven issues, Gunhawks has an interesting distinction. Originally starring Kid Cassidy and Reno Jones, a good ol’ plantation boy and his buddy slave. Who fought willingly for the Confederacy because some Yankees kidnapped his girlfriend. That makes sense... In the sixth issue, Cassidy is shot and killed. The finale was technically retitled to Reno Jones, Gunhawk. Making that 1973 comic book only the second at Marvel to be named after a Black protagonist, following Luke Cage. Black Panther had ongoing adventures, but had taken over the anthology title Jungle Action and wouldn’t get his own series until later. DC lagged behind Marvel in this regard.

In 1979 the western genre at Marvel was basically declared dead, with Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt finally canceled. The latter after over 30 years of continuous publication. Two Gun Kid had been canceled two years earlier. Though for a few years already, almost all of Marvel's westerns (and war books) had been turned into reprint titles.

Of those aforementioned 1,192 issues, 1,146 of them are from 1979 or earlier. Leaving less than 50 across the last 40 years.

A 1980 tryout issue with a new character (and a Frank Miller cover) goes nowhere.

A 1985 miniseries by genre veterans Trimpe and Severin depicts the Rawhide Kid now as a middle aged man, as the West is in its final days. It is kind of depressing.

Backpedaling a bit. As the Marvel superheroes dominate, the western heroes occasionally make crazy guest appearances through the means of time travel. Most notably the Two-Gun Kid becomes an all-but-official member of the Avengers and a close friend of Hawkeye. He gets tied up with time travel generally for years to follow. Later becoming a She-Hulk supporting character and Avengers Initiative leader circa Civil War

With that cover, let's now take another aside to untangle Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider is not originally a Marvel property. The vigilante was created by Gardner Fox (Justice League of America) and Dick Ayers for Magazine Enterprises in 1949 as a horror themed western character. The feature spent time as a backup in Tim Holt and eventually broke out into its own short lived title.

Magazine Enterprises went kapoof alongside the slump in the industry around the implementation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954. The regulation agency set up by industry leaders to avoid government intrusion following moral panic. The over-cautious guidelines severely neutered the crime and horror genres, while superheroes were already dormant, gutting many publishers. The Ghost Rider trademark expired. Marvel picked it up in 1967 for a series drawn by original creator Dick Ayers. Motivated in equal toxic parts by Martin Goodman's obsession with securing trademarks (practically every character Stan Lee created can be traced to an earlier one) and then rising writer Roy Thomas's history nerd leanings.

Obviously the name would be repurposed for the more recognizable Johnny Blaze in 1972. Marvel retroactively renamed Carter Slade as the Phantom Rider. The modern demonic versions of Ghost Rider do rarely touch on western themes. Johnny spent some time as a nomad and Garth Ennis brought in some western connections to expand the GR lore.

The western genre is basically passed over through the whole 1990s.

In 2000, John Ostrander and Leonardo Manco come around for a miniseries integrating all the Marvel western heroes together. Followed by a 2002 sequel. With revelations and deaths. The kind of lore retconning series that tickles the fancy of comic history nerds like yours truly. Ostrander also did Justice League: Incarnations around this time, tracing through the history of the JLA.

2003 comes around and it all that heavy lifting revitalization goes in the toilet. Ron Zimmerman writes a Marvel Max Rawhide Kid series. Zimmerman is some kind of comedy writer and Howard Stern regular. Well, within comics he wrote this and the god awful Ultimate Adventures - the only wholly original Ultimate Universe book, a Batman and Robin parody that was part of the U-Decide bet with Marville and PAD's Captain Marvel.

Marvel Max was a new imprint established in the early 2000s to break away from the aforementioned Comics Code and tell more daring, mature stories. Occasionally this resulted in gold like Jessica Jones. However, most of the time it was cringe inducing dreck.

So what's so bad about Rawhide Kid Max? He's now gay. Umm...OK, as long as it's handled well, maybe? Nope, constant cringey sexual innuendos which border on the protagonist coming off as a sexual predator. Some idiot gave it a sequel years later too.

Since then, we've gotten a bunch of one-shots in 2006, a weird Andy Diggle miniseries in 2012, and then the surprisingly great Marvel 1872 from Gerry Duggan during the patchwork reality crossover event Secret Wars. Which set up the Red Wolf series which was doomed by bad optics surrounding the writer and Marvel's spaghetti on the wall strategy of the time.

One of those 2006 one-shots ended up being legend Marshall Rogers's final published work. He and longtime collaborator Steve Englehart did it while waiting for DC to greenlight Dark Detective III, the second spiritual sequel to their influential 1970s run on Batman.

Here’s hoping we get to see some of these legendary heroes on the trail once more. At the very least we will get another tiny snippet in 2019 with a Gunhawks one-shot being brought back in celebration of Marvel’s 80th anniversary. Written by crime comics duo David and Maria Lapham.

This concludes a rambling chronicle of Marvel's history with the western genre and considerable tangents touching more generally on the history of Marvel and the comic book industry.

4 notes · View notes

sergeantrosabellaswan · 6 years

Text

Follow Me Down- ANON REQUEST

SUMMARY: “Hi! Can I please request a soulmate AU where the words their soulmate speaks first are tattooed on their arm with Pietro pretty please with all the toppings on top?” from anon. Inspired heavily by @floral-and-fine’s Silent Treatment.

You huffed out a sound in between a sigh and a groan as you came out of the shadows. Ever since you could remember, you had always hated parties- especially parties that your “uncle” would throw- this one was no exception. You glanced around the room, hoping to spot Natasha’s flaming scarlet curls, but only spotting a young man who had silver white hair. It was obvious that he was flirting with six girls at once, judging by how they all crowded around him, smiling and laughing at whatever he was saying.

You only scoffed and returned to search for your friend as you pulled your trademark leather jacket tighter around your petite frame, seeking comfort rather than shelter from the chill. The heels of your motorcycle boots softly clicked on the floor as you wandered around, making it a point to not look friendly as you looked for the Russian assassin. The thick crowd of party goers parted for you as you stomped through, thinking of the long rant you was going to unleash onto your friend once she was located.

For the second time that night, your eyes flitted in the direction of the silver haired flirt, and he caught your eye, sending you a flirty wink and a cocky smile. You only rolled your eyes and fought the urge to stuff her middle finger as far up his nose as possible as you strutted over towards Natasha, having spotted her at last.

“There you are!” the Russian redhead greeted you with a beaming smile. “Have you seen Tony?”

Do I look like a babysitter? You used your hands to sign out the sarcastic response, shifting your weight onto the balls of your heels as you rocked uneasily back and forth several times. Have you seen dad anywhere? Natasha’s response was to point up at one of the balconies, where you saw your father, Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye, perched as he watched all the boisterous festivities.

I think I’d better get him some food or something, you signed, hugging your friend and mother- like figure before making a head start for the buffet.

As you was filling a plate with food to bring to your father, a sudden gust of wind almost made you drop the plate. You turned your head and saw that it was the silver haired flirt.

“Where have you been all my life, krasivaya?” a heavily accented voice purred into your ears and you violently jumped as your hearing aids began to whistle shrilly in your ears. You yanked them out, fiddling with the program switch as you waited for the angry sounds to die down. Ignoring the looks on surrounding people’s faces, you stuck them back in before turning to face the young man.

Are you nuts? ‘Cuz apparently, you are! You just don’t walk up to people and nearly scare the living crap out of them! You screamed, using your hands to give him a lecture. As you continued to yell at him, you could see random people glancing in your direction and laughing. Hopefully, not at you, otherwise, you’d be doing more than just giving out a silent lecture.

At last, you spun around, with the plate of food gripped tight in your hands and stormed off, leaving behind a very amused silver haired speedster. As you went up the stairs to where your father was situated, you found yourself shaking. You wanted to scream out your frustrations, however, the only problem was that you were at a party and didn’t want to cause further embarrassment to yourself. So you settled for standing next to Clint and handing him his food.

“So I see you met Pietro Maximoff,” he commented with an amused sparkle in his eyes.

So his name is Pietro, you thought.

“The little shit saved my beef in Sokovia last week- he took several bullets meant for me and a little kid,” he continued on.

You didn’t say anything as you leaned into the railing of the balcony, knowing why your father preferred being up high- to spot danger more easily.

Like father, like daughter really.

He tried to hit on me, you informed her dad, a smirk toying with the edges of your mouth as he growled from deep within his chest, a truly frightening sound, if directed at anyone, really. Don’t worry, dad- I gave him a piece of my mind.

“I should hope so,” he grumbled, finishing off the plate in no time at all and leaning over the banister with you. “Do you want me to hunt him down and give him a lecture as well?”

No thanks, you smiled at your father, spying the silver speedster looking up at the two of you. I’m a big girl. I can wipe my own ass and everything.

Clint belted out a loud thunderous laugh, making you giggle as well.

“Barton! Barton Junior! Get down here and meet the new recruits!” Tony Stark suddenly screamed, nearly making Clint topple from their high vantage point.

“Shall we?” Clint smiled down at you as he fired off an arrow with a zip line attached to it.

We shall, you grinned happily, letting your father descend first before taking a deep breath of air and jumping from the balcony. You grabbed onto the line and slid down with many years of practice under your belt, a face splitting grin on your face as you let go before your feet had even touched the floor and spun around to smirk at Natasha, who was shaking her head at you.

“Clint Barton and his daughter, Barton Junior,” Tony introduced them to a tall red and green man and a pretty brunette with streaks of red running through her hair. A blue and silver streak zipped into the equation to reveal that it was the silver haired flirt. “This is Wanda, Vision, and Pietro.”

You turned to Wanda with a shy smile on your face

“Oh, now she smiles,” Pietro groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically, earning a dirty glare from Clint.

Can I punch him now? Please? You begged, causing for your father to snort with amusement and Tony to roll his eyes.

“Only if you can catch him, sweetheart,” smirked Clint, secretly delighted in the way your eyes lit up at the challenge. You marched right up to Pietro and landed a solid punch to his jaw, making him fall down, more in shock then with pain.

Wanda stared at you with amused shock in her eyes as you shook out your hand, turning to walk away. For the first time, Pietro noticed that you were wearing a back quiver with teal blue and cream fletchings with a compound bow strapped onto the leathers.

The silver speedster smirked as he stood and zipped to stand in front of you, where he took you into his arms and whisked you off onto the dance floor.

“So, are you deaf?” he asked nonchalantly and got a shake of the head. “So you’re mute then?” A lazy shrug met him and he grinned brightly at you. “Ah. Makes sense. Why are you mute?”

This question made you frown and pull away before turning to leave the party. But your escape wasn’t quick enough- Pietro saw the tears pouring down your cheeks.

~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~

Over the next two months, Pietro kept trying to get close you, only to be pushed further and further away from the alluring mystery that was Clint Barton’s daughter. He and Wanda had both learned enough sign language to hold a conversation with you, however, you mostly talked to Wanda.

Is he always this much of an ass? You complained to Wanda one day after having the silver haired speedster try to talk you into training together.

“If I’m right, and I’m always right about these things…” Wanda trailed off, a mischievous twinkle in her soft brown eyes, making you lean forward in anticipation. “I’d say that Pietro has a crush on you!”

You nearly fell over at your friend’s words.

Why would he possibly like me? You scoffed, folding your arms and looking bored.

“I do have to give you credit on your poker face,” the brown haired woman said with a smile. Pietro had appeared and settled himself down onto the chair behind you.

“Well, for one, if he’s not with me, he’s with you,” Wanda began. “Second, he’s trying to get to know you- why are you pushing him away?”

Because I was hurt by someone I thought loved me! You exploded, spinning around to leave, only to bump into Pietro, who was pretending to read a book.

“Please explain,” Wanda begged, taking your hand into hers and rubbing comforting circles into the back. You squeezed your eyes shut as tears began to fall once more and fled.

Wanda’s eyes flew open and her hands went directly towards her mouth as she rushed after you.

“Wait! Please!” She caught up to you as she was entering your room. “I’m your friend- please tell me why you refuse to trust my brother!”

You took a shuddering breath before opening her door more, allowing Wanda to enter. You then closed the door and pulled your jeans down to showcase your soulmark.

“Where have you been all my life, krasivaya?”

The words that your soulmate would first say to you, written in messy cursives, branded into your right hip.

“Pietro said those words to me when we first met,” a muffled snort escaped through your nose as your voice, rough from not being used in so long, whispered through the air. “I’m not ready- I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

“Pietro will be so happy!” Wanda all but squealed in delight. “He’s been looking for you his entire life- I kept telling him that he needed to slow down- that he’d find you when it was time-”

“Please don’t tell him!” you begged through tears.

Before Wanda could speak, a voice made you both jump.

“Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Artemis, please report to the launch bay for missing briefing.”

~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~

After the briefing, you came out of the meeting room in your seemingly skintight leather jacket, your quiver and bow flung onto your back, heels clicking loudly as you strutted your way out to where the quinjet was waiting for its passengers.

“Ready?” Clint grunted, planting a protective hand onto your shoulder. You smiled up and him and nodded, groaning in your mind at Pietro, who’d came to see his sister off.

“Ready as always,” you muttered quietly, your father taking a surprised step back at your words.

Steve caught word of your little exchange and a grin lit up his face as he took you in for a brotherly hug.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Roger, roger, copy you loud and clear, cap,” you peeled yourself away from Steve’s hug, wincing at Pietro’s sharp intake of air coming from behind you. “Ready when you are.”

“You are not going out on this mission.”

You slowly turned to face Pietro, who was staring at you with something that could only be described as wonder in his eyes. You could only scoff at him as you placed one foot into the quinjet.

“Who the hell do you think you are trying to stop me from doing my job?” you hissed out in a dangerously low voice.

“Your soulmate,” he answered, reaching out with one hand to touch your pale face. You only scoffed and smacked his hand away.

“Yeah, no,” you all but sneered before getting into the quinjet and starting to close the doors.

“Then I’m coming with you!” His jaw was stubbornly set. “No, you don’t understand- I’ve been looking for you my entire life!”

“Evidently, you haven’t been looking hard enough!” you snapped irritably before shutting the doors and taking a seat. “Ready, Steve? Dad? Wanda?”

“Yup,” Clint answered as he powered up the quinjet and lifted up.

“How did he take it?” Wanda asked as you strapped yourself in.

“About as well as you’d think,” you answered sarcastically, kicking back your heels and taking an arrow out of her quiver. You began to nervously play with its fletchings as the destination came up quickly.

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” Steve told called out from the co pilot’s seat. “Scarlet Witch and Artemis- you two distract the guards while Clint and I destroy the compound- is that manageable?”

“Hell yes,” you smirked as you cracked your knuckles. You stood with Wanda, and the two of you exited the quinjet into a rainstorm of bullets. You began releasing arrows, always hitting her target and killing HYDRA agents left and right as Wanda used her telekinesis to wreck havoc.

“Just like old times,” you smirked, releasing another arrow without even looking and killing a man who was getting ready to shoot out Wanda.

“Thanks!” Wanda yelled as she heaved a boulder up and crushed three men at once.

“You’re welcome!” you shouted back as you used one of your many trick arrows- this one being an exploding arrow- to make a jeep explode, the sudden flames killing everyone who was inside.

“Okay kids- time to run!” Clint yelled, bursting from the compound with Steve close on his heels. Wanda and you both took up the rear as a loud explosion nearly rendered the four superheroes momentarily deaf.

~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~

Pietro was a nervous wreck as he waited for word from his sister that everyone was okay.

“We have two injured coming in!” Clint’s voice thundered over the intercom, making the silver haired speedster’s heart start to jackhammer in his chest.

“I’m fine- good God in heaven dad, it’s nothing more than a tiny, benign papercut!” came your exasperated voice. “I’d be more concerned about Wanda- that explosion knocked her up pretty good.”

“Both of you are going to be checked out,” Steve ordered. Pietro could practically hear the eye roll from you- his soulmate.

“Steve, I hate to break it to you, but Wanda and I are not library books!” you sassed him and her words were directly followed by laughter from Clint at his daughter’s well timed joke.

At that moment, the quinjet landed, and a crash team rushed out with a gurney at the ready.

You stepped out first, supporting Wanda with an arm wrapped around the brunette’s waist and an arm slung over your shoulder.

“She was hit with a flying brick to the head, the wound has mostly clotted, but I’d still take X- rays and possibly a MRI just to be on the safe side,” you told the head medic, running to keep up with the team as they took Wanda and headed straight towards the onsite hospital. “She’s been in and out of consciousness for almost about an hour now. Her blood pressure is 179 over 26- I think her body went into shock about ten minutes ago...”

Pietro stayed behind as he listened to you rattling off words and terms he didn’t even know existed, outside of the occasional medical sit com.

“You need to be checked out,” Clint told you as he came up to you. You opened your mouth only to be cut off with a stern look.

“Okay, fine, you win,” you dramatically huffed, heading over to a vacant bed and shrugging off you leather jacket, tugging you dark grey tank top up over your head.

All that Pietro could do was stare at the delicate inked artwork that decorated your body. The eclectic tattoos seemed to form a story that only you could tell- mermaid scales in shades of teal blue and silver, a yellow teddy bear and a pink pig holding onto a balloon, the words “Once Upon a Time…” in fancy calligraphy, and random music notes on a staff were some of what Pietro could pick out.

“Hey, Maximoff?” He turned and gulped at the look that Clint was giving him. “Take care of my little girl, will you?” He didn’t bother waiting around for an answer as he marched off.

“Can I help you with something or are you gonna continue staring at my back like some kind of creep?” you sighed heavily, rubbing your face with one hand.

Pietro snapped himself out of his thoughts and walked to stand in front of you, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He was suddenly at a loss for words as he refused to look anywhere but at your unflinching face.

The two of you settled into an uncomfortable silence, neither one wanting to break.

“Are you injured?” Pietro was the first to crack, his eyes scanning your body, looking for any pain. You wordlessly showed him your hand, which had a small burn scarring the skin. It looked painful, but you weren’t showing any signs of discomfort.

“I got it while pulling Wanda onto the quinjet,” you explained in as few words as possible. “She was hit in the head and lost consciousness directly afterwards.”

Pietro smiled at the unemotional expression on your face. He reached up to touch your cheek, only a twitch of your eye made him stop.

“I mean it.” His words were soft and full of love. Your eyebrow shot up and this was all the encouragement he needed to continue onwards. “I have been looking for you everywhere, ever since I was old enough to know what soulmates were.”

You scoffed, but remained silent, your eyes full of distrust and fear as he stepped closer to her.

“What happened to you?” he asked, his voice nothing more than a soft whisper.

You chuckled humorlessly, breaking eye contact and looking down at your fiddling hands.

“Ten months ago, I found out that my now ex boyfriend worked for HYDRA,” you explained, wiping away the tears in your eyes. “He actually killed children- little babies, only hours old. All because they weren’t “perfect enough”, whatever that means.”

Pietro’s eyes filled with horror at what you were telling him.

“In the end, it was either him or me. I had no choice but to kill him,” you sniffled loudly, wiping away more tears as they fell from your eyes.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that, moya printsessa” Pietro said, gathering you up into a hug.

“What does moya printsessa mean?” you asked, your nose scrunching slightly at the words.

“Moya printsessa means “my princess” in Sokovian,” he translated with a deep red blushing his cheeks.

“Already with the pet names?” you dryly asked. He shrugged silently. “Look, I’m not ready for another relationship. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

“Okay,” Pietro said, his words making you look at him sharply. “I understand what you’re saying. I can wait until you’re ready- I don’t mind. Anything for you, moya rodstvennaya dusha.”

You made a face at his nickname for you.

“You aren’t going to stop, are you?” you muttered.

He smiled down at you as he stepped in between your legs and kissed the top of your head.

“Never,” he murmured gently against your curls.

krasivaya~ beautiful

moya printsessa~ my princess

moya rodstvennaya dusha~ my soulmate

taglist

@captain-ariel-barnes

@propertyofpoeandbucky

@invisibleanonymousmonsters

@thedevilwearsvibranium

If you liked this, then please consider buying me a coffee HERE (http://ko-fi.com/A0A4A4UD) It only costs $3!!!

#pietro maximoff #pietro maximoff imagines #anon request

7 notes · View notes